FlexiDAO: using technology to accelerate the transition to greener energy

“I think, more than anything, it’s the acceleration of the energy transition towards greener energy – that’s what drives us. I mean, we’re all 27 and scientists are telling us that humanity won’t survive if we keep doing what we’re doing,” says Joan Collell, co-founder and COO of FlexiDAO, a company that specialises in developing software for the energy sector.

“Essentially, our software uses blockchain technology to bring more transparency to the energy grid. Lots of consumers think that buying green energy certificates is good, but with limited transparency, there are no direct links between your actions and the production of green energy. And not all green energy is actually green… So our software helps energy retailers offer more transparency,” explains Joan.

FlexiDAO’s software acts a bit like a digital notary in real time, ensuring that there is no double-counting, providing a direct link between each green electron produced and its carbon impact, right through to each watt actually consumed on the other end of the grid. “Our software doesn't replace current energy certification systems. We simply add a transparency layer of information so that consumers can make more environmentally impactful decisions.”

Active in the B2B space, FlexiDAO sells its software to energy suppliers like EDP and Total, helping them to offer a reliable CSR service to their clients, who in turn can track the matching of their consumption to the production of green energy.

The company, which was born in Barcelona in 2017 but recently moved its headquarters to Amsterdam, is made up of energy and software engineers and is present in 9 countries. As they started to take off, in 2019 FlexiDAO received an equity investment from SET Ventures, a venture capital firm backed by the EIF under the EU’s Investment Plan for Europe, which helped the company boost its growth. “We were able to hire software engineers and also start to focus on international growth and in particular sales,” says Joan.

And looking ahead? Joan explains that that their vision is to use blockchain technology to also address energy flexibility: “Supply of energy is not steady – particularly with renewables. Neither is demand. I think we need an IT backbone that will help coordinate the grid and maximise its efficiency. Blockchain can do that…”

Company:  FlexiDAO (The Netherlands)

Type of business: environment, energy

EIF financing: EFSI

Financial intermediary: SET Ventures

For further information about EIF intermediaries in The Netherlands, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/nl